Chely Wright, country singer, author and soon to be star of her own documentary about coming out, will be at Borders in Hollywood (Sunset and Vine) this Thursday 8/5 for a performance, reading and autograph signing at 7pm.

Chely became the first country music artist to publicly come out back in May when she published her autobiography, Like Me.   While many musicians and actors have felt more comfortable coming out in recent years, Chely’s decision to do so was particularly brave due to the generally conservative, religious and mostly republican fan base that makes up the country music community.

The book, provides a painfully honest exploration of her struggles growing up in small mid-western town which was deeply rooted in religion, her rise to stardom as a county music signer in Nashville and the heartbreak of a losing long term relationship after almost a decade of hiding it from only a few of her very closest friends and family.    From the despair she expresses in the first chapter of the book, to her decision to come out and live and truthful life in last (at the possible cost of her career), this book is one that both people who have struggled with their own sexuality or know someone who has will relate to.

For more information on the book signing you can visit the Facebook event page here.

In what is being blamed today as a “glitch” tens of thousands of books were “re-categorized” as “adult content” (which resulted in de-listing of some) over the weekend.   Why is this such a big deal?  Well it seems that many of the books that were “re-categorized” were Gay & Lesbian titles while many other books of more extreme heterosexual nature remained categorized as they have always been.  One disturbing example is that Porn star Ron Jeremy’s raunchy autobiography was still ranked while the bio of Ellen DeGeneres written by her mother was de-ranked.   The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today still ranked while Heather Has Two Mommies is de-ranked.  You get the picture…..

Whether this was a “glitch” or not American retailers are quickly learning  how powerful the Gay & Lesbian social media network can be and what can be accomplished by this group in a very short amount of time.  For a more in depth look at what occurred and how the Gay & Lesbian community responded read the article on Queerty.com.